Trolley.



.'No. 744,770. PATBNTED Nov. 24, 1903. L.I L. LEATHERS.

TROLLEY.

APPLIOATION FILED APR, z2, 190s.

-No MODEL.

Patented' November 24, 19035.

PATENT OFFICE.-

LEvI LLEWELLYN'LEATHERS, or sT. ALBANS, MAINE.

TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,770, dated November 24, 1903.

" npplimion mea April 22, 1903. serai No. 153.797. (No model.)

new and useful Improvements in Trolleys;y

and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the in-` vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

' This inventionrelates to trolleys; and the object is to provide an improved guard so located and associated with relation to the trolley-wheel as to prevent accidental displacement thereof from the wire and which may also serve as a finder to assist the operator when applying the trolley to the wire.

A further object is to equip the trolley with means for normally holding `the guard in proper operative position 'above the wheel, partially inclosing the wire and wheel, and permitting a constrained rotative movement thereto when the trolley-passes beneath the cross or lateral supporting-wires of an overhead system.

For a full understanding of the merits and `advantages of theinvention referenceA is to be had in the following description to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a perspective ,View of my improved trolley applied to the wire. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central section showing the parts assembled. Fig. 3 is a detail in perspective of the shaft on which the springs for holding the guard elevated are mounted.

In carrying out the invention I employ the usual `trolley-pole 1, provided with a forked upper end 2, between which the trolley-wheel is mounted for rotation. `The arms comprising the'fork are preferably'made separate from the pole proper and secured in mortises formed on opposite sides thereof, as shown. The ends of the forked arms are provided with apertures, one of which is threaded at 3 to receive the threaded end of a hollow journal 4, on which the trolley-wheel nds its bearing. This hollow journal or sleeve is interiorly screw-threaded a portion of its length,

as at 5, for the reception of a threaded annular shoulder, secured on the shaft 7, which is housed within the hollow journal.

extending from one end thereof to a point near the center, and on this threaded portion is secured a collar 9, which screws into the hollow journal 4 and holds the shaft rigid therein. The ends of the shaft are reduced to provide journals 10 for the guard-fingers 11, and the ends of the shaft are tapped for the reception of screws 12, which serve to hold the guard-fingers on the shaft.

From the description thus far given it will be apparent that a hollow journal is provided for the trolley-wheel and held rigidly between the forked arms of the trolley-poleand that the shaft on which the guard-fingers are journaled'is housed within the hollow journal and held against rotative and longitudinal movement, so that the guard-fingers are mounted to rotate independently of the trolley-wheel. '1

For the purpose of holding :the guard-fingers in a vertical position above the trolleywheel and above the Wire and to permit them to have .a constrained rotative movement downwardly and rearwardly from such position I provide coil-springs 13, which surround the shaft 7 on each side of the collar 9. One end ofl each spring is engaged in an aperture formed in the side of the collar 9,'and its other end extends into engagement with the guard-fingers, the latter being provided with an annular recess v14 and a longitudinal groove 15 on its face for this purpose, whereby when the guard-fingers engage a lateral supporting-wire or other obstruction they are permitted to move downwardly and rearwardly against the tension of the springsl; but as soon as they have passed such obstruction the springs will immediately act to return them to their upright position.

For the purpose of preventing the springs 13 from turning the guard-fingers too far, so that they would be thrown forwardly beyond their perpendicular position, I provide stops 16, which consist of resilient members17, fixed to the outside of the forked arms 2 and provided at their free ends with an odset portion or kink 18, adaptedv to engage a recess 19, formed in the periphery of the guardfingers. These recesses 19 are arranged to aline with the offset kink 18 when the fingers reach a vertical position at right angles t0 The shaft 7 is formed with screw-th reads 8,

the wire during their flight upward after being displaced from such position by a crosswire or other obstruction, and therefore the guard-fingers are restrained from further rotation.

The guard-fingers are preferably formed with inwardly-directed or rentrant portions 20, which partially envelop the periphery of the trolley-wheel, and their faces contiguous to the trolley-wheel are provided with antifriction-rollers 21, against which the trolleywire contacts when the wheel is displaced laterally therefrom by sharp turns in the route. These antifriction-rollers reduce the abrasion on the wire and prolong its life. The diverging ends 22, formed by the rentrant portions 20, are adapted to serve as finders or rather assist the operator to engage the trolleywheel with the wire, which operation is usually experienced with some difficulty, owing to the tendency of the trolleypole to spring upwardly above the wire. ience is avoided by the inwardly-directed portions 22, formed on the ends of the guard-` 1. The combination with a trolley-wheel, of

a. guard therefor, a hollow journal for the wheel, and means in the hollow journal op? erating on the guard for normally holding the latter in operative relation to the wheel.

2. The combination with a trolley-wheel, of a hollow journal therefor, a guard mounted for rotation independently of said wheel, a spring in the hollow journal for rotating the guard, and means for limiting the rotative movement of the guard.`

3. The combination with a trolley-wheel, of a hollow journal for said wheel, guard-fingers mounted for rotation independently of said wheel, and means in the hollow journal acting on said fingers to normally hold them in a vertical position.

4. The `combination with a trolley-wheel, of a hollow journal for said wheel, guard-fingers mounted for rotation independently of said wheel, means in the hollow journal acting on said fingers to normally hold them in a vertical position, and means for limiting the movement of the fingers.

5. The combination with a trolley-pole and This inconven-4 its wheel, of a hollow journal for the wheel, a shaft fixed in the hollow journal, guard-iingers journaled on the shaft and having a bearing against the sides of the pole, and springs housed in the journal acting to rotate and hold for normally holding the guard-fingers up-v wardly and for returning them to their normal positions when dislodged therefrom.

7. In a trolley, the combination with the pole having a forked end, of a trolley-wheel mounted for rotation between theforked ends and having a hollow journal, a shaft ixed within the journal, guard-lingers on the shaft mounted for rotation independently of the wheel, springs on the shaft inclosed by the hollowjournal and each having one of its ends fixed to the shaft and the other end to the guard, and means on the pole engagingthe guard to limit its rotative movement.

8. In a trolley, the combination with a trolley-pole and its wheel, of a hollow journal for said wheel, guard-fingers carried by the pole and mounted for rotation independently of the wheel, means in the hollow journal for rotating the guard-iingers and for normally holding them in a vertical position, and stops on the pole coacting with the guard-fingers to limit the movement of the latter.

9. In a trolley, the combination with the pole and its wheel, of a hollow journal for the wheel, guard-fingers carried by the pole and mounted for rotation independently of the wheel, means housed in the hollow journal acting on the guard-fingers to hold them in an operative position above the wheel and to automatically return them to such positions, and a resilient member on the pole engaging the guard-fingers to limit the movements of the latter.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEVI LLEWELLYN LEATIIERS.

Witnesses:

EMILY A. LEATHERS, ATTA M. CRoss. 

